Walk into any beautifully decorated home this time of year and you'll notice it's never just one big piece doing all the work. It's layers: a statement piece, greenery, texture, and little moments of sparkle, built up one on top of the other. That's the approach our design team uses every year when we deck out the Magnolias showroom for the holidays, and it's exactly how we'd decorate your home too.
Here's our step-by-step approach to layering holiday decor like a designer, using real pieces from our Christmas collection so you can recreate the look room by room.
Start With a Statement Piece
Every great holiday display starts with one anchor: a dressed mantel, a tree, an oversized wreath, or a centerpiece. Pick your statement piece first, then build everything else around it. Resist the urge to add a second "big" item in the same space — more large pieces compete with each other instead of working together.
Our own mantel and wreath displays mix a full garland base with candlesticks at staggered heights, a hanging accent in the center, and clustered berries and ribbon tucked throughout, so even one anchor piece reads as a finished, layered design.
Build Your Greenery Base
Once your statement piece is set, layer in greenery. Mixing a couple of textures — something soft like cedar and something more structured like pine — gives real depth instead of one flat shade of green.
Our 5' Frosted Cedar Mantel Swag drapes beautifully across a mantel or table runner, while our 60" Sage Real Touch Norfolk Pine Garland adds a fuller, more structured line that's perfect for doorways, stair rails, or layering underneath your swag.
Don't aim for perfectly even greenery, either. A little looseness and a few uneven branches are what make faux greenery read as real.
Layer in Accents & Texture
This is where your holiday decor gets its personality. Cluster berries, pinecones, and faux florals together in small groupings rather than spacing them out evenly, then repeat similar accents in two or three spots around the room so the eye naturally connects them.
This year our in-store designers built five signature looks for the season — Champagne Toast, Crimson Christmas, Frosted Evergreen, Polar Ice, and Under The Mistletoe — each one using this same layering approach with its own color story. Stop in and see them in person, or shop the pieces online in our Christmas collection.
Finish With Light & Ribbon
The last layer is what makes a display feel finished: candles or a lantern at a few different heights, and a wired ribbon bow tucked into your greenery for movement and color. Ribbon is an easy, inexpensive way to tie a whole look together, or to refresh a display for a new season without starting over.
When to Start Decorating
Our advice: hang your greenery and garland early, even as soon as early November, then layer in your seasonal accents closer to the holidays. That way your home has a cozy, decorated feel for weeks, and refreshing it for Christmas is as easy as swapping in a few new accent pieces.
It's also the perfect excuse to shop early. Our Christmas By Candlelight Open House kicks off the season Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7, with special buys both in-store and online. See the details here »
Layer Your Holiday Decor with Magnolias
From statement mantels to the smallest ribbon accent, every piece in our Christmas collection is designed to layer together beautifully. Stop by our Norfolk, Nebraska showroom or shop online to build your own designer-layered holiday look this season.